Stokey Talk

The roadworks on Stoke Newington Church Street are nearing an end and the ride on the number 73 is about to get a lot smoother. It’s not just a superficial job; this is a complete renewal. The road surface has been completely replaced and old ironworks removed and smoothed over. (A resident of Church Street has been chronicling the works with compulsive flair on his blog – no fewer than nine posts, and counting. Required reading.)

But the new, ultraglide surface will surely serve only to highlight the dire condition of the rest of the side-streets in N16. They were bad before the winter, but months of hard frosts have opened up the cracks even further. Hackney council has been round, marking the worst of them with white paint; they’ll be stopped up with filler tarmac that will just add to the bumps and jumps. So which road is in the worst condition?

For years, surely the worst road in the area has to be King Henry’s Walk. Subsidence, endless utility works and various traffic-calming schemes have rendered its condition worse than in the days of the monarch after whom it’s named. But sadly, it’s in N1, so doesn’t officially count.

My vote for runner-up goes to Brooke Road. This narrow, busy rat-run between Evering Road and Rectory Road has been dug up more often than John Terry’s love life. The sleeping policemen are crumbling, the pavements cracking, and the thundering pace at which drivers pound the route must make it unbearable for residents.

But surely the worst has got to be the section of Albion Road between the junction of Church Street and the parade of shops by Clissold Crescent. The southern tip of the street was resurfaced a few years back; inexplicably, the northern end, which was in just as lamentable condition, was left untouched. I never understand why roads carrying major bus routes can be allowed to deteriorate to such a condition.

Obviously I haven’t been round every road in Stoke Newington recently, so what’s your vote? Post your nominations below and/or click here to add a placemarker to the Google map.